


Book Of Saturdays

by fairlightscales



Series: 33 and 1/3 [10]
Category: Poldark (TV 2015), Poldark - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1970s, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Developing Friendships, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-18
Updated: 2020-02-19
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:53:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22793563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fairlightscales/pseuds/fairlightscales
Summary: Red and Blue
Relationships: Demelza Carne/Malcolm McNeil
Series: 33 and 1/3 [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1420387
Comments: 18
Kudos: 19





	1. If I Could Talk To The Animals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The London Zoo

"What d'ya know, Jer? The zookeepers put wee socks on them sheep!"

Jinny started laughing. "They ain't socks, y'great noodle! That's just how their legs are!"

"How about that...I ain't never seen sheep with two colors on their legs! The things you see in a zoo, eh?"

Dem, Jinny and Jeremy found Malcolm's enthusiasm over the sheep very funny. Red found Blue's occasional daffiness charming. They were enjoying an afternoon at the London Zoo. Jeremy and Jinny had been here on their own once but having Mama and her friend along too was much more fun. The conversations and flights of fancy Malcolm introduced to the outing had them in stitches. "Jeremy could fit on the back of one of them tortoises! 'Ere, Jer, ee could ride on one a them things!" Jeremy looked at the giant tortoises and their gentle, slow puttering in the water or along side their companions off to the side, among large rocks. They looked very thoughtful, one munched on some lettuce as if he was thinking quite deep thoughts. It might be nice to ride one. They looked like they wouldn't mind giving a little boy a ride. Jeremy imagined sitting on one and travelling at an elegant pace alongside the cars on the motorway. It would take a very long time to reach Nam Par Par on a tortoise... They came upon a bear who ate a large fish in a very messy manner. Jeremy did not like to see the fish being gnawed at by the bear so they moved on. Malcolm tried to jolly Jeremy into better humor. "'E'd think they'd at least put a napkin round 'is neck!" joked Blue. Jinny laughed. "The bear might eat more like a gent if 'n they did!" Dem laughed. "They could put a tablecloth on that boulder!" "An' one of them candelabras!" said Jinny. "Maybe 'e's not bothered wantin' fancy stuff, maybe 'e just wants cod and chips!" said Blue. They laughed. "And a pickled egg!" crowed Jinny. "Ugh!" groaned Blue. Jeremy laughed with Mama. Boo and Jinny had an ongoing amusement over his distaste over Jinny's pickled egg when she ordered one from the chip shop. Jinny sniffed, haughtily. "What do you know about it? You eat stuff like haggis an' that!" Malcolm smiled as they continued to walk through the zoo. " Aye! Haggis, nips an' tatties! That's the first thing I'm gonna eat when I get home!" Red smiled. "Not candy?" Blue thought for a moment. "O.K., second then!" They all laughed then. "Haggis is proper food! An' it don't be lookin' at me while I'm tryin' to eat it like your mad Cornish pies!" Dem and Jinny bent double laughing and Jeremy smiled up at them from his pushchair. It was nice when Mama laughed. Demelza, Jinny, even Jeremy found Starry-Gazy pies unremarkable enough to simply tell Blue they were having 'fish pie' and invited him to stay to supper. Malcolm accepted, believing it would be a browned, mashed potato crust over a baking dish of fish stew. What was set on the table was a proper, pastry crust pie with six little fish heads poking out of slits in the crust. They looked up at him, baked, as if he was their last hope for freedom.

"Bloody hell!" and Malcolm winced to have sworn in front of a child. "Sorry, Jer! Beg y'pardon, Red...Them fish look like they're tryin' to escape!"

They saw fish, swimming , untroubled, in their tanks, never in danger of being put into pies. They saw monkeys swing from bars and branches and playing tag like proper humans. They saw lizards and leopards. Lions and all sorts of colorful birds. They sauntered through the zoo, enjoying the animals and each other's clever jokes and pleasant talk. Malcolm treated them all to ice lollies. Jeremy had one with a stick that had a little football player standing on it once you finished it. They all thought that was very clever. Demelza was a little self conscious. She had sullied one of Blue's handkerchiefs, with make up, when they first met and, today, he relinquished another one in aid of Jeremy and it had gotten covered in melted cherry ice. "It don't matter, love. I got a bunch..." Jinny , gently, wiped Jeremy's mouth and they rolled the popsicle stick in it so they would not lose the little football player. Red resolved to buy Blue a packet of handkerchiefs to make up for it. 

They took the bus back to the flat. Dem sat with Jeremy on her lap as he giggled over Malcolm and Jinny saying funny things about what the animals might do for fun after the zoo was closed. They decided that they all had a dance party when the zookeepers went home at night. Jeremy thought that would be a wonderful thing to see. All the animals enjoying themselves. The bears and lions might dance on their hind legs. The birds might play follow the leader and flutter their colorful wings. The fish might dance in pairs and the slow, gentle tortoises might nod their heads in time to the music, they not being fleet of foot... They were home. Blue stopped in for tea and then took his leave. They waved good bye from the front door and even Garrick gave a friendly bark. They unwrapped the little football man and washed it so it was no longer sticky, washed clean of the melted cherry ice. Jeremy sat at the kitchen table, pretending it could kick and run around as Mama made dinner. They had creamed chicken and rice with cooked carrots. Then they had chocolate biscuits. Jeremy had milk and Mama had tea with Jinny. They ate their dessert in the back garden, as it was still light in the evening. Later Dem sat on the floor of the lounge with Garrick lying with his head on her lap. She was strict about not letting Garrick have human sweets, chocolate being particularly bad for dogs. She kept a proper dog biscuit for him at the end of the night, these days. He was content for that to be his afters. It was sweetened with her love for him. Garrick was much calmer now that he had more exercise from walking with Malcolm. He was given more of Dem's attention as well. She made a point of looking him in the eye, fussing over him like she used to. He still missed their proper walks and playing with her like the old days, but this was nice too. A nice evening with his favorite person. Dem and Jinny watched a little TV and then retired for the night. Dem curled around Jeremy, who murmured a little and gave a content little sigh. Dem closed her eyes and sighed herself. The comforting warmth of her son by her side and the quiet sound of his breath as he slept. The night curled around them. They slept.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If I Could Talk To The Animals, Rex Harrison 1967
> 
> Haggis, nips and tatties: Haggis is a savoury pudding containing sheep's pluck (heart, liver, and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and cooked while traditionally encased in the animal's stomach. Nips are mashed turnip and 'tatties' mashed potatoes so...uh...yum


	2. Rainy Day, Dream Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Garrick enjoys the weather

"Red, Garrick ain't 'alf slottery! 'E got 'imself in the mud!"

"Oh, oh dear!" Dem opened the door to find Blue and Garrick looking like a couple of drowned rats. Malcolm was hesitant to bring him in even though it was still raining as he stood at the door. "Come in, Blue, don't stand there! You'll catch your death!" She beckoned them into the foyer and went to get the older towels they kept for Garrick as well as a nice one to let Malcolm dry himself too. The umbrella didn't make a lick of difference. It had been blown inside out by the wind and corrected in a sad configuration. The spines were flopping loose on one side. She returned and handed a towel to Blue. "Thanks, love! You an' Jeremy were better off home, it ain't fit for man nor beast t'day!" Usually, Malcolm insisted that Red brave a rainy Saturday but today's storm was too strong to bring her or Jeremy out. He did walk Garrick who led him a merry chase. Blue lost his grip on the rain soaked handle of Garrick's lead and the dog enjoyed himself heartly. He ran full speed, splashing through every puddle he could get at, changing direction like a bull outfoxing a matador, forcing Malcolm to run about, trailing a blown out umbrella, in the mud of the green areas of the park. Garrick thought it a new game and played it to the hilt until Malcolm finally caught him. Dem wiped his paws clean and wiped the muddy paw prints from the floor. Jeremy stood in the hall, a few feet behind her with a finger in his mouth, watching the proceedings. "Hi ya, Jer!" Jeremy waved and smiled. Boo's hair was wet and plastered down on his head in some places. As he rubbed a towel over his head it stuck the hair up in little spikes. Jeremy thought it funny. "What a troublemaker you are..." Dem cooed, lovingly, to Garrick as she got as much mud off his feet as she could. "You need a wash!" She smiled as Garrick barked an excitable recounting of the fun he had today. She looked up at Blue as she stood herself. "Do you want some tea while I bathe him, Blue?" He smiled. " I'll give ee a hand, I'm soaked anyway..." They shared a smile and Red, Blue, Jeremy and Garrick went up to the third floor to get Garrack clean. Malcolm's shoes made a squelching sound against the steps as he walked. "Oh, poor you!" said Demelza as she turned on the stair to face him as Jeremy and Garrick trotted ahead to the third floor bathroom. "I'll dry off, by n' by..." he smiled. They got Garrick into the tub and Dem poked around under the sink to find the better trap for the drain so dog hair wouldn't get into the pipes. "Aha!" She waved it over her head, in triumph ,and replaced the wider holes one with a little 'clanck!' With Blue to help and Jeremy's aid with a small plastic pail, they scrubbed Garrick clean as he felt puffed with pride at gaining so much attention. As they rinsed him free of suds and chatted to Garrick and each other in the confines of the bathroom, they did not hear Jinny come home. She cut short her day's off ramble from the rain as well. She set her raincoat on the small, hall tree and her umbrella, open, off to the side on the floor so it would not get fusty. She wondered if Jeremy was napping. The house seemed too quiet, she froze. Malcolm was laughing, somewhere on the upper floor of the house. That wasn't ordinary. He'd never been upstairs as far as she knew...She went up the stairs and could hear Dem and Malcolm laughing, on...? The third floor? Jinny steeled herself. What went on with Dem was Dem's business. Blue sometimes put his arm around Dem in a way that looked a bit beyond friendship... She went to the third floor landing and could see light from the bathroom. Jinny's mouth fell open. 'They never...' she thought as she stared at the door, ajar. She walked towards the door. She would knock, she thought, she would 'warn them' of her approach... As she got closer, Jinny could hear Garrick pant and Jeremy laughing as well. She exhaled, from relief, and chided herself for jumping to such a conclusion. They all turned to see her in the doorway. Garrick was shaking water off himself from being washed and they hailed her as if she'd been away on a long trip. "Jinny! Ga-ick made me wet!" said Jeremy. "It's Jinny!" smiled Dem. "Jinny, love! Did ee see yer film?!" asked Malcolm. " Yes, thank you, Blue." She looked at them, all smiles, washing the dog. Of course, Blue would have still taken Garrick out... "I didn't stay out though, it's not fit for man or beast out there!" "That's what I said too! Garrick got lose an' I had a deal of trouble gettin' hold of 'im again! " Malcolm smiled. With his mustache and beard and his hair drying in little spikes, he looked a bit like a furry dog himself. Jinny laughed. "I see y'got it all under control, though!" Blue grinned as he scratched Garrick's head and Garrick barked his appreciation . "Aye, 'e's clean as a whistle now... "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rainy Day, Dream Away, Jimi Hendrix 1968
> 
> Slottery:  
> "Does your father not know you've been out?"  
> " Yes, but I was lended my brother's shirt and breeches. Fathur says I must go to the fair whether or no, so he says I can borrow Luke's Sunday fligs."  
> "Well?"  
> " Well, I ain't got what I went for. And Luke's clothes is all slottery."  
> -Ross Poldark, Winston Graham
> 
> Now I ask you, the modern, American reprint of Ross Poldark changed Demelza's 'slottery' to 'muddy'. Which is more Demelza? What a disgrace that the modern editors are denying a new set of Poldark fans the right to read actual Poldark! We're being separated into two sets of fans and denied the happiness of our own vocabulary! It's slottery, damn it!! T'ain't right!

**Author's Note:**

> Book Of Saturdays, King Crimson 1973


End file.
